CA160 Electrical Help!

[ericmanuel]

Hey guys,
I have a '66 CA160 that was running great. Then all of a sudden lost all electrical power. The fuse had blown. So I replaced it and now nothing. Battery is charged but nothing!

Where do I start? Any help would be appreciated.

Eric

[G-Man]

Did the fuse blow a second time or is it intact?

You may have just got a short where a wire frayed and touched the frame. You could try looking for an area on the wiring that is black or smells....

Depending on your skills / tools you can start checking voltages. Start at the battery. What volts does it read. Is it going down? A sure sign of a short somewhere.

Get back with a few observations and we can work from there.

G

[ericmanuel]

Did the fuse blow a second time or is it intact?

You may have just got a short where a wire frayed and touched the frame. You could try looking for an area on the wiring that is black or smells....

Depending on your skills / tools you can start checking voltages. Start at the battery. What volts does it read. Is it going down? A sure sign of a short somewhere.

Get back with a few observations and we can work from there.

G

The new fuse did not blow. That's what has me scratching my head. I will go threw and check all the wires for possible grounding.

~Eric

[R100]

Just guessing here -
Sometimes an old or chafed wire, besides being bare of insulation, can be down to only a few strands. If that shorted to something like the frame, it would blow your fuse and possibly break the last few strands of wire. Next time current would not flow and, if the wire isn't touching, would not blow the fuse this time.
I know it sounds a bit "out there", but I have seen some bazaar electrical things happen.

[DianneB]

9 chances out of 10 you burned off a connection the first time the fuse blew. Now it is time to start tracing the circuit with a voltmeter (to ground) and see where your 12 volts disappears.

[ericmanuel]

That moment when you realize that the new 6 volt battery you purchased is actually a 12 volt battery. This discovery was made when I was looking for frayed/grounded wires. Decided to check the output on my battery. My 6 volt(or least I thought) was producing 12.3 volts. SO I think my electrical problems were self induced.

The question I have is what should I look to replace first?



~Eric

[G-Man]

Eric

Presumably, you have no spark?

How long did it run with the 12v battery?

Your coil may have blown the primary circuit. Put a meter across the two smaller terminals and see what the resistance is.

If you had the lights on the bulbs are probably gone.

What the battery voltage say when you turn on the ignition?

G

That moment when you realize that the new 6 volt battery you purchased is actually a 12 volt battery. This discovery was made when I was looking for frayed/grounded wires. Decided to check the output on my battery. My 6 volt(or least I thought) was producing 12.3 volts. SO I think my electrical problems were self induced.

The question I have is what should I look to replace first?



~Eric